Avengers assemble! Although the Avengers movie doesn’t come out until next year, we’ve assembled our own team of superfans to cover the premiere of Thor. Join me (Erica), CB, Scotty and fantastic photographer Anushika on the red carpet!(CB and Scotty’s story commentary are noted throughout – just like below! Otherwise, this is Erica narrating…)
CB: Today, I am super duper excited because it is the THOR PREMIERE! I am the resident Mikethefanboy.com Thor expert, so I am psyched. I was already on cloud nine, but I waited months for this premiere. I have so much Thor stuff, I really tried limiting myself at the premiere. Unfortunately, some dorkus slipped me a Siff poster and begged me to get it signed…What am I going to do with him? I’m armed with my Poster and a 12X18 for Chris. Really light, but I’m in such a good mood already.
This is, by far, one of the craziest starts to the day as the premiere is set up around a very, very long red carpet that ends in heaven. Yes, Marvel has brought Valhalla down to earth so that we can admire Odin’s Throne.
We spend approximately 5 hours moving 12 times in search of finding the best location. We narrow the list down to a handful of places, select our spot and hope for the best. It’s still a long way down the carpet…
We’re completely out of breath, baking in the glaring sun and still worried if we’ve got a good spot. (Anushika and CB are closer to the start of the line and will ultimately have better luck with some cast members while Scotty and I are down further. Any time you see a great picture shot in portrait rather than landscape, you know it’s Anushika’s!)

While we wait we see a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents practicing their walk along the carpet with 5 of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Acuras. I have a sinking feeling that some of the stars will be arriving in the cars. If so, that’s going to blow since we won’t get to see them as they will drive right past us. Sigh!

At last the carpet begins! The first arrival is Joe Quesada, former Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics and is now Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. He walks up and signs for a few folks since not everyone knows who he is. He’s as nice as ever and signs his distinctive/artistic “Q.” I ask him about how the Avengers movie is going, and he pauses, turns to me with an I-have-the-best-secret-in-the-world kind of grin and says “It’s awesome!” Yep, he’s just a big tease! Glad to see he’s excited though! With Joss Whedon directing, what’s not to like?CB: It’s Jaimie Alexander. I get her to sign my thor poster, then I get dorkus’s poster. She did it so fast I didn’t take a pic of her…rats

Jaimie signs a ton up front and then suddenly starts to skip me and Scotty who are further down the line. In panic, we call out to her and she says she’ll “definitely” come back. With a carpet this long, I don’t believe her and she will not, in fact, return. Ah well!She’s quickly followed by Josh Dallas who is as nice as can be and signs for everyone as his parents patiently and proudly watch their boy in action.CB: Its Tadanobou Asano. He comes to the carpet. I get him to sign my thor poster.

Now Tadanobu Asano who is a huge star in Japan and if we miss him now, it’ll be almost impossible to get him later. He signs quite a bit, but then that mysterious barrier flares up and he stops signing right when he gets to me and Scotty. No!!! Looks like Scotty and I will to have to beg and plead to get anything tonight.Case in point – Kat Dennings arrives next.
CB: I yell for her and she gets my poster. YAY Me. Once again, super quick.

She’s signing down the line and then that frakin’ invisible barrier flares up and she stops signing right before Scotty and me again! This time we’re prepared to beg and plead – especially Scotty who has Kat on the top of his Most Wanted list tonight. He leans way out and pleads for Kat with his Nick and Nora DVD extended. She gets a good look at him and says, “Oh, you’re cute” and stops to sign for him. I toss in my poster for good measure and am relieved when she signs. Yeah!
(SCOTTY: Oh my God! Kat Dennings said I was cute!!)

Doug Jones is also walking down the line. He’s not in Thor, but he’s appeared in the Marvel universe as the Silver Surfer in the unfortunate Fantastic Four sequel and also in the non-Marvel Hellboy movies as Abe Sapien. A lovely and amiable guy, we chat about how both Abe and the Surfer have some stuff in development, but there’s nothing firm yet. I ask if any new Silver Surfer project would have a real Galactus and he enthusiastically rolls his eyes and says “Instead of that cloud thing! God yes!”
There’s a bunch of people coming down the carpet now and I can just make out Jennifer Grey (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dirty Dancing, Red Dawn – ironic that the star of tonight’s film is in the upcoming Red Dawn re-make) and Clark Gregg (Iron Man). Clark is going to be the constant in the Marvel movies as the main S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. A nice guy, he’s sort of running around and signing and chatting with everyone as Jennifer patiently waits and stops for the occasional fan.
SCOTTY: I ask for a picture with Jennifer Grey who is also fighting the glare of the setting sun. She happily obliges and squints to find the camera.

There’s a huge roar from the crowd up front and I’m pretty sure that Sir Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Howard’s End, do I need to go on?!?) has arrived. Sure enough, I see him way down the carpet surrounded by a phalanx of security.

Amazingly, he’s taking his time and signing for everyone and taking the occasional picture! Scotty’s freaked since Sir Anthony has a blue pen in hand and he needs silver, but Sir Anthony is switches pens for both of us and makes sure he signs a bold, clear signature. So nice!
As part of the swarm moves, I see Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Again, Harry Potter) in the middle of the carpet. He’s not really signing for everyone. In a panic, I scramble to pull out my Hamlet flyer that I’ve had for 15 years and I call out to him. He comes over (yeah!!) and signs both Hamlet and Thor. A strange combination of Shakespeare and comic books when you think about it…
I look up the carpet to see who may be next and the only thing I see is a one very broad chest in front of me. I look up and see that Ray Stevenson (so great in HBO’s Rome, Punisher) is standing in front of me and I suddenly feel very, very tiny. He is a perfectly good-natured and obliges me with a beautiful signature.
Whew! They’re just shooting stars down the carpet!

Yes, the creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and so many other characters is here since he has a mandatory appearance in any film version of a character he’s created. It’s an awfully long carpet for a man who’s close to 90 years old, but Stan gives it a go, as lively as ever. Can’t wait to see his latest cameo in this film!
We can see a bunch of guests head to the theatre including Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Terminator Salvation and the upcoming Fright Night), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Kick-Ass, How to Train Your Dragon) and Mike’s vote for the most fan-friendly person on earth – Catherine O’Hara (Beetlejuice, Best in Show, Home Alone).

(Editor’s Note: Catherine O’Hara is not a nice lady.. I say Harrumph to her! HARRUMPH! M-)

I call out to Catherine O’Hara and she graciously turns her head to smile. That’s glance is truly a gift from Catherine O’Hara.

Also on the carpet is everyone’s favorite Operative from Serenity – Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually, Salt, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, etc…). He’s very affable and I compliment him on Othello which he performed on stage with Ewan MacGregor – and also Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki in Thor.

CB: Tom Hiddleston is on the carpet. I ask him to sign my poster and he obliges. YAY! Finally got Loki!

Tom signs for a while, but the magic barrier pops up and he stops signing once he gets down to Scotty and myself. I call out to him and he looks at me and just shakes his head with a kind of cool look. Geez! Maybe Loki the Trickster is here today instead since that was rather cold. Jaimie and Asano-san at least gave me a smile as they walked by.The carpet gets quiet again and security begins to stop people from walking down the carpet. Uh oh. That can only mean the Acura cars are going to make an appearance and since our hero hasn’t arrived yet, I’m betting that they will be driving Chris Hemsworth directly to the red carpet.

Sure enough, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents start their walk followed by the cars. In the third car I can see the outline of Chris Hemsworth. Drat! I call out his name and either the Acura’s are not well-sound proofed or my outdoor voice is louder than I thought as he turns and looks straight at me and gives a wave.

Sigh! No Chris!

We examine the people being held up until the cars drive down the red carpet and we see a rather large entourage and try to figure out what’s going on.
Stop! Hammertime!

No, it’s not Thor’s trusty weapon of choice Mjollnir. Its MC Hammer on the red carpet! The person who manages the guest list has a sense of humor…

As his brother has made his grand entrance, Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) is now making his way down the carpet. Poor Liam Hemsworth! He also tried out for Thor, but, unlike his brother, Liam Hemsworth didn’t work with Joss Whedon on Cabin in the Woods. Liam didn’t have Joss Whedon make a personal call to Ken Branagh to keep him on the short list for the role.

Ah well! Liam Hemsworth is getting ready to play Gale in the upcoming movie version of The Hunger Games which could be a great franchise anyway. I ask Liam to sign “Hey Catnip” and he’s completely mystified by the reference and says, he’ll just sign his name. I smile and tease him on whether he’s read the Hunger Games book yet. He pauses while he’s about to take a picture with a fan and gives me this smirk that says “you cheeky brat.” Yep, it’s probably not a wise thing to antagonize the 6’5” giant who could probably bench-press me with one arm!Well, the carpet is pretty empty and I’m starting to pack up my stuff as most of the cast is here now (Natalie Portman is not lifting a finger to promote this movie so she is not here today). As I’m packing up, Scotty says “look!” and I turn to see Chris Hemsworth making a beeline from the carpet to us fans! CB: WHAT A GUY! I get him on my two items.Unbelievably nice guy! It really does make him soooo much hotter since he is so kind to the fans. He starts at the head of the line and quickly covers everyone. Wow! Can’t believe he came back for the fans! Swoon!

Now I think we’re about done when I hear a big roar and see that Colin Farrell is here as well. He’s stopping to do some pictures and such, but we’re not anywhere near him. He’s being really nice which is great – can’t wait to see him and Anton Yelchin in the upcoming Fright Night!

Lastly, Idris Elba (Obsessed, The Wire, 28 Weeks Later, Losers) is heading down the carpet. He’s signing for a bunch of folks and then stops before he gets to us. (Of course!) I reach out and call out “For a Rocknrolla?” He smiles and stops and signs for me. Very nice!And that’s the end of the carpet! The only problem is, we didn’t see Rene Russo who was Scotty’s main reason for coming out today. So we’re not done yet. Scotty and I head towards the exit to see if we can find her.

Sure enough, sometime later, we see her exiting the building. We call out and she seems reluctant. Scotty gets way tense next to me so I use that outdoor voice of mine to call out “Rene! He’s been saving these magazines for the last 10 years for you!” With a few other “you promised!” calls, she relents and says she’s getting in her car first.

Scotty is off like a rocket to get towards her. As the car pulls forward, a swarm of 40 fans and professionals seem to pop out of thin air.The worst eBay sellers are piling stacks of photos towards Rene who is amiably signing away. I can’t get anywhere close, but brave little Scotty is able to get into the mess.

SCOTTY: I had to fight against all the professionals who were flipping photos! I was finally able to ask her to sign the Vogue photo which she did with a beautiful signature. But it was so tight, I couldn’t get my arm out of the car. But Rene grabbed my second photo and graced it with another beautiful signature. Painfully I tried to get out of the crowd and almost dropped one of the photos on the way out. All in all, it was a victory!

CB: I had a blast at the THOR premiere. No one pushing me from behind was SUCH a relief. The poor barricade almost toppled over for Kat Dennings.

A great day considering how much scrambling we had, but it was worth it! (Can you believe we got EVERY single person to switch to the right pens?!?!?)